Struggling Cranford field hockey team earns second victory against rival Westfield

View full size(William Perlman/The Star-Ledger) Cranford field hockey has faced a slate of strong opponents so far this year, including West Essex, pictured here in red against Montclair on Sept. 11.

CRANFORD — The schedule maker has not been kind to the Cranford Field Hockey team over the first month of the season. Coach Jess Berkowitz’ team has faced a who’s who of state powers, starting off 1-5. But the Cougars ended the month of September with the signature victory they had been searching for when they edged rival Westfield 2-1 on Sept. 27 at Westfield to improve to 2-5.

Junior Charley Hurley scored a goal and had an assist and senior Julie Schott also scored as they dropped Westfield to 4-4. Senior midfielder Erica Faraone played her usually solid game in midfield, junior attacker Catherine Miller created numerous offensive chances and senior goalie Jessica McCoy stopped all but one shot.

McCoy, a four-year starter at goalie has faced many of the top teams in the state during her career and this year has faced top five teams, West Essex and Oak Knoll as well as top 20 teams Montclair and Montclair Kimberly. In a 5-0 loss to West Essex, McCoy was spectacular with 24 saves. McCoy believes that taking their lumps early has its benefits later in the season.

“I think starting off with a tough schedule like this is an advantage,” said McCoy, who will also be a four year starter for Coach Jackie Dyer’s basketball team this winter and was second team all county last year. “It challenges us at the start of our season, so we have to raise our level of play to compete with theirs. Of course, it’d be nice to play them again at the end of the season to see how we would do, but I think playing teams like Oak Knoll and West Essex early on improves our skills and prepares us for the rest of the season.”

Although field hockey primarily uses a different athletic skill set, McCoy does see many complementary skills.

“In terms of skill, the two sports don’t overlap much to affect my abilities,” added McCoy, who has learned much in her four years. “However, because I play goalie in field hockey, I’m in a unique position where I’m on the field and involved, but also detached. This allows me to observe team dynamics and has also taught me the importance of intangible qualities like hustle. These dynamics and qualities are vital to basketball as well and I think that recognizing them in field hockey has provided me with a new perspective to keep in mind while in the thick of a basketball game.”

“The most important thing I’ve learned from this position is that you have to brush off your mistakes,” McCoy continued. “As a goalie, mistakes have greater consequences, but allowing them to pile up in the back of your mind is even worse. Being a goalie taught me that in order to be successful in the present, you have to focus on the present.”

Miller has been the team’s leading scorer with four goals, all scored in the team’s other victory thus far, a 5-0 win over Union on Sept. 11. Faraone also scored and added two assists. Faraone also scored in a 3-1 loss at number15 Montclair. The schedule does not get any easier as October begins with games against powers Kent Place and Summit but Berkowitz, an all state field hockey player for Cranford and first Team All-American at The College of New Jersey, is hoping to continue Cranford’s steady rise as a county power.

“My coaching experience has been developed through camp and clinic programs,” said Berkowitz. “I have returned to my college at various times to help with practices and that has really helped in my ability to analyze and break down the game. I am lucky enough to still have my college coaches and former teammates who are now high school coaches to bounce ideas off of.”

“I think my greatest contribution to this program is my intensity, knowledge of the game, work ethic, and high expectations for the girls,” Berkowitz continued. “I believe in having high standards and expectations. Nothing great was ever achieved with low expectations; you have to set your goals high and don’t stop until you get there. If I can get the girls to understand the importance of playing every practice at game speed, then I think we will have a great advantage over our opponents because we will know nothing other than giving our absolute best in every match. I would also like to see more Cranford girls playing at the college level in future years.”